The notary's nose;

THE NOTARY'S NOSE. 33
his hand to his hat, he had violently and
unintentionally struck a person who was
running up from an opposite direction.
It was a pure accident; an awkwardness
at the most. People are not supposed
to be called upon to account for accidents or even awkwardness. The rank
and education of M. l'Ambert would not
let anybody suppose that he was capable
of striking Ayvaz-Bey with his fist. His
notorious near-sightedness, and the darkness of the passage had done the damage. Finally, M. l'Ambert, with the advice of his friends, was entirely ready to
say in the presence of Ayvaz-Bey, that
he regretted having accidentally hurt
him.
This way of putting it sounded well
enough in itself, and received a sort of additional authority from the character of
the speaker. M. de Villemaurin was one
of those gentlemen who seem to have been
3